Rescue underway for sailboat caught in Hurricane Julio

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard is coordinating the rescue a 42-foot sailboat caught in Hurricane Julio 414 miles northeast of Oahu Sunday.

Sailing vessel Walkabout is disabled and taking on water with three people aboard. On-scene conditions are reported as 92 to 115 mph winds with 30-foot seas. One of the hatches has blown away and onboard bilge pumps are unable to keep up with the flooding. The vessel’s life raft has also been blown overboard.

At 7:15 a.m., watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received notification from the International Emergency Response Coordination Center in Texas that an alert message was received from Walkabout requesting Coast Guard assistance.

JRCC diverted an airplane from the National Hurricane Center, Teal 76, from inside Hurricane Julio to locate the vessel and establish VHF radio communications.